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SEC Weekend Recap: A big weekend for Tigers (whether from Missouri or LSU)

Mike Evans, Rashard Robinson

Texas A&M wide receiver Mike Evans (13) is tripped up by LSU defensive back Rashard Robinson (21), who frustrated the SEC's leading receiver all day during the Tigers' 34-10 win. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The best, the worst and the most notable from the week that was in the SEC:

Best Team: On a night when Alabama beat an overmatched FCS opponent and stayed out of the spotlight and Auburn was off, it stood out that much more how solid Missouri was in its 24-10 win over Ole Miss.

Missouri quarterback James Franklin (1) runs for a first down in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Mississippi, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2013, in Oxford, Miss. Missouri won 24-10. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

The Tigers moved the ball with two quarterbacks and were particularly efficient offensively when senior James Franklin was in the game. And the Missouri defense, which sometimes gets overlooked, held a Rebels offense that was averaging 40 points a night at home to a mere 10.

LSU, with a complete, dominant performance in a 34-10 rout of Texas A&M, could easily have taken the title for the weekend as well. Missouri gets the edge for showing up big on a night where it needed to win for its championship aspirations, something LSU did not do in Oxford earlier this season.

Best Game: Georgia Southern's dramatic 26-20 win over Florida would qualify if not for the fact that Florida's inept offense played such a huge role on why an FCS team was able to win.

The finish was dramatic. The Commodores appeared stopped on their winning drive, but replay overturned a spot after it looked like Tennessee had held the Commodores short on a fourth-and-1.

Vanderbilt quarterback Patton Robinette (4) celebrates with teammate after scoring on a 5-yard run giving them the lead in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2013, in Knoxville, Tenn. Vanderbilt won14-10. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

Three plays later, Vandy scored the winning touchdown in the game's last minute on backup quarterback Patton Robinette's nifty 5-yard run where he faked a jump pass, then scrambled into the end zone.

And, to add a bit to the drama, Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs got the Vols close enough to heave a Hail Mary to the goalline on the game's last play.

The real clincher was what was at stake. By winning, Vandy beat the Vols in back-to-back seasons for the first time since a six-game winning streak that ended in 1926. The Commodores finished .500 in SEC play, meaning back-to-back non-losing seasons in SEC play for the first time since the 1957-59.

On the other hand, Tennessee lost its chance at a feel-good narrative in Butch Jones' first season. Had it held on for the win, the Vols would been a win over Kentucky away from bowl eligibility

Instead, Tennessee clinched a fourth straight losing season. It was quite a dramatic change in fortunes in the closing minutes.

Team that bombed: Florida.

Need we say more?

It was a given the Gators' offense would struggle though it still baffles me how much Florida seems to try to protect its quarterbacks to the point where it dooms them to failure. I thought Skyler Mornhinweg made some plays late in the game that if he had been allowed to try to make them more often in this game, he could have.

But that's not disappointing. That's a situation Florida must address, whether it's through firing Will Muschamp and starting over or simply making changes in the offensive coaching staff.

What was disappointing from a UF perspective was allowing 429 rushing yards to Georgia Southern's triple-option offense.

Indeed, it's an offense that can make a lot of good defenses look bad, but to me, this is a Florida defense that was still leading the SEC in total defense (even ahead of Alabama) for a reason. You do that with attention to detail, exactly the trait you need to have the discipline to shut down an option team.

Florida missed assignments and left gaping holes, not just in the meat of the game, but on a game-winning drive in the closing moments of the game. The Gators could not get a stop when it needed to stop (and this is key) an FCS team and that might be the last straw for Muschamp.

Team that helped itself most: Obviously, Missouri put itself in position to win the east and Vandy made history, but I think LSU did more for itself than any other team.

Last we saw LSU, it looked liked it was taking a step back from the elite teams in college football when Alabama pulled away in the second half.

But in dominating Johnny Manziel and the Texas A&M Aggies, LSU showed a few important things.

The most important was it showed the talent level hasn't dropped. The Tigers have athletes all over the field and used them effectively to frustrate Manziel. The issue hasn't been a drop in talent level, it's been youth.

LSU covered receivers today better than it had all season starting two true freshmen and a sophomore in the secondary.

The second thing the Tigers proved is they can still coach them to perform at a high level.

LSU has a chance to finish 9-3 by beating Arkansas Friday, then get to 10 wins in a bowl game. That would be four straight 10-win seasons for LSU and getting there would be of symbolic importance in a year where the Tigers bowed out of the SEC race early.

But let's not forget, not only did LSU handle A&M, the Tigers also dominated Auburn in its only loss of the season.

Best performance you heard about: Before he was knocked out of the game and what's left of the season, Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray was on fire with four touchdown passes and 183 yards in less than two quarters in a 59-17 rout of Kentucky.

It stood out on a day where there were great committee performances (LSU's running backs, led by backup Terrance Magee, rushed for 324 yards against Texas A&M), solid performances in big games (like Henry Josey's 96 rushing yards and two touchdowns for Missouri), and there were plenty of big numbers against sub-par competition (like A.J. McCarron's 13-for-16, 171-yard passing day against Chattanooga).

Murray's was the best combination of gaudy statistics and, at least, an SEC opponent.

Best performance you may not have heard about: LSU gave a start to true freshman cornerback Rashard Robinson and put him man-to-man against maybe the best wide receiver in college football in Texas A&M's Mike Evans.

All Robinson did was shut Evans down, holding him to a mere four receptions for 51 yards (one of the catches was not against Robinson) while also intercepting a pass. At 6-foot-1, he had better size than most corners to match up with Evans and the speed.

The performance of Robinson and fellow true freshman corner Tre'Davious White showed some of what's been LSU's issue. Obviously, the talent has been there for the Tigers, it's just that a lot of it is young. Now, 11 games into the season, some of these guys have grown up.

Robinson may have grown right into a role as the next star corner for the Tigers.

Stat of the Week: 45-of-97, 500 yards, 1 touchdown, 5 interceptions: Those are Johnny Manziel's career passing statistics against LSU.

In two years as the Aggies starting quarterback and 24 games, the two games against the Tigers, both losses, represent his two worst games as a starting quarterback.

Stat of the Week, II: 246: The number of career receptions for Vanderbilt receiver Jordan Matthews, an SEC record. He needed four catches against Tennessee to set a new SEC mark and he ended up with 13.

Matthews was already the SEC's all-time leader in receiving yards.

Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray is helped off the field by trainers during Saturday's 59-17 win over Kentucky. Murray suffered a season-ending ACL injury. (Associated Press photo).

Stat of the Week, III: 13,166: The final career passing yards for Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray, an SEC record. A torn ACL suffered in Saturday's 59-17 win over Kentucky will keep him from adding to the total.

He also finished his career as the SEC's all-time leader in completions (921), touchdown passes (121) and total offense (13,554).

They said it: Florida coach Will Muschamp on his team's non-existent offense:

"We're struggling offensively and it has infected our entire team right now."

Muschamp vowed to fix the offensive problems, but at this point, one wonders if he's going to be given the chance.